John Terry has revealed England’s beleaguered players persuaded
Fabio Capello to let them have a beer after Friday’s dismal World Cup draw with Algeria.

John Terry revealed England’s players were given an evening to let off steam after the Algeria game

Amid talk of unrest in the camp, and hours before a team meeting was due to be held to address England’s faltering campaign, Terry revealed he had approached the management to persuade Capello to relax his disciplined handling of the squad.

‘I went to see [assistant manager] Franco Baldini after the game and said, “Flipping hell, let everyone have a beer. Let’s just switch off”,’ said the former captain.

‘Usually everyone goes straight back to their room and stays there until the following morning. But for the first time since the manager took over he let us have a beer.

‘We had one each, nothing more than that, and seven or eight of us sat there talking about the game. It was good to get things off our chest and express how we felt.’

The discussions formed the basis of a team meeting planned for last night, with Capello’s reaction likely to make or break England’s entire time in South Africa.

‘The players were able to say how they feel,’ Terry added.

‘If it upset him [Capello] then I was on the verge of just saying, “So what? I’m here to win it for England”.

‘If we can’t be honest with each other there is no point in being here.’